Another
Spark of
success
for radio
station

THE North East’s youngest radio station has picked up another industry accolade after being named the best in the region for the second-year running by the Radio Academy.

Spark FM has won a Sony Radio Academy Nations and Regions Awards 2011, which recognises outstanding stations with a potential audience under 300,000.

The award tops off an incredible year for the student-driven community radio team, based at the University of Sunderland, which hadalready scooped a hat-trick of accolades last month at the National Student Radio Awards when Spark presenter Phil Dean pick up Gold in the Best Speech category, while breakfast presenter Scott McGerty scooped two awards, Silver in the Best Interview section with British rapper Wretch 32, and Bronze in the Best Specialist Programme for Dance Revolution, which is on every Friday night from 7pm.

The Radio Academy judges said: “We were impressed with 107 Spark FM’s original and passionate content. High production values and impressive presentation combine with local speech content you might not hear elsewhere, demonstrating breadth of content and creativity.”

The station will now go forward and compete against the other winning regional stations for the overall title of Station of the Year (under 300,000) Award category at the Sony Radio Academy Awards 2012.

Fred Marden, University of Sunderland head of radio, television and new media, said: “What a platform on which to take Spark forward in 2012! We’re adding television and online to the 107 Spark FM mix, and renewing our pledge to be the community station that is ‘exclusively Sunderland’.”